Corn-husking machine.



No. 727,851. PATENTED MAY 12, 1903.

W. QSUHULTZ.

CORN HUSKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1901.

H0 MODEL. v 6 SHEETB-SEEET 1.

THE Noams PKTERS co. Pnmoumm wAsumomm o, c.

No. 727,851. PATENTED MAY 12, 1903'.

- W. SCHULTZ.

CORN HUSKING MACHINE.

- APPLIOATIYON FILED JULY 5, 1901.

v11o MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

mX/M

ma mums PETERS cu, PHoro-Lrmo, WAsNkNGYON, a. c.

PATENTED MAY 12, 1903* W. SCHULTZ. 001m HUSKING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 6, 1901.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

H0 MODEL.

n1: Noam PzYms no, vnoroumou wAsnmmou, n. c.

- No. 727,851. PATBNTED MAY 12, 1903.

W. SCHULTZ. 001m HUSKING MACHINE.

' APPLIOATION FILED JULY'B, 1901.

H0 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Tu: Nonms PEreks co. PNOYD-LITHO wAs-duulou, u. c.

No. 727,851. PATENTED MAY 12, 1903.

' WP SCHULTZ.

CORN HUSKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1901. 10 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 51 fiV/MIns-"cams PETERS co, smoraumc; WASHINGTON u. c.

NITED STATES Patented May 12, 1903.

* PATENT OFFICE.

WILBUR scnULraor WILMOT, SOUTH DAKOTA, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF TO ANDY W.LINDQUIST, or WILMOT, SOUTH DAKOTA.

CORN-HUSKING MACHINE.

SBECIT IOATIONfoi-ming part of Letters Patent No. 727,851, dated May 12,1903.

Application filed July 5, 1901.

T0 at whom it may co n'cerma Be it known that I, WILBUR SCHULTZ, ofWilmot, South Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Corn-HuskingMachines, of which the following is a speci' fication.

This invention relates to improvements in corn-husking machines, andrefers more spe-. cifically to a machine of that character which isdrawn along a row of standing corn in the field and serves to not, onlygatheror pick the corn from the stalks, but atthe same time husks' anddelivers the husked corn or ears to a suitable conveyance travelingwiththe machine.

Among the salient objects of the invention are to provide a machinewhich will effectually pick and husk a row, of corn as rapidly as themachine can be drawn along by a team; to provide a machine whichoperates upon the stalks of corn without cutting or severing the same,so that the stalks remain in the field, although crushed downby thepassage of the machine; to provide a machine: so constructed andarranged that such stalks as have been broken over or have fallen downwill be efiectually picked up and delivered to the picking and huskingmechanism; to provide an extremely simple and effective picking andhusking mechanism which operates to husk the ears, whether large orsmall, clean and without crushing or substantially bruising the corn; toprovide means cooperating with the picking and husking mechanism forfeeding the corn along gradually and positively, so as to prevent thepossibility of clogging or interruption of the proper operation of themachine; to provide an improved feed mechanism for insuring the initialgrasping of the stalks by the picking and husking rollers; to provideimprovements in the details of construction whereby the machine is madecapable of automatically adjusting itself to corn and cornstalksofivarying sizes and for variations'in the stand. of corn or heavinessand thickness of growth of the latter; to provide a machinesoconstructed and arranged that it is substantially unaffected in itsWorking when passing over unlevel ground-as, for instance, in going upor down hill; to provide amachine of extremely rigid Serial No, 67,119.(No model.)

.and durable construction while at the same time made reasonably light,so that it may be handled by a single team, and in general to provideamachine of the character referred to of simple, effective, and durableconstruction.

To the above ends the invention consists in the matters hereinafterdescribed, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, andthe same will be readily understood from the following description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aplan view of a machine embodying'my invention, parts being broken awayto reduce the size of the figure. Fig. 2 is a transverse verticalsectional view taken upon the indirect line 2 2 of Fig. 1 and lookingtoward thefront of the machine. Fig. 3 is a transverse verticalsectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 4 and looking toward the frontof the machine. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig; 5 is afragmentary detail view showing the construction of both thehusking-rollers, parts being shown in axial sectional View to expose theinternal construction. Fig. 6 is atransverse sectional View of one ofthe husking rollers, taken .on line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is atransverse sectional view of both rollers, taken on a line correspondingto the line 7 7 of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical sectionaldetail taken on line 8 8 of Fig. l'andlooking in the direction of thearrows. Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 9 9 of Fig.5. Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view, on an enlarged scale, takenthrough a spur -equipped portion of -the roller-as, for example, on line7 7"ofjFig.;5. Fig. 11 is a fragmentary detailshowing the inner side ofone of the gathering-fingers and parts mounted thereon in side elevation12' is a transverse vertical sectionaldetail taken on line 12 12 of Fig.1 and lookingin the direction of the arrows. Fig. 13 is a transversesectionalview taken on line 8 8 of Fig. 1 and looking in a directionopposite that indicated by the arrows. Fig. 14 is a fragmentarytransverse sectional view of the lower portion of one of the hoppermembers, showing particularly the mounting of the conveyor-supportthereon.

Referring to said drawings, 1 designates as a whole the main frame ofthe machine, comprising a series of lower longitudinally-extending framemembers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, parallel upper members 7, 8, and 9, and aseries of cross-frame pieces 10, 11, 12, and 13, it being noted thatnone of the cross-frame pieces, with the exception of the member 13,extends entirely across the full width of the machine. The frame membersreferred to are so united as to provide a lateral rectangular frame,within which is located and journaled the main supporting or bull wheel14, and to also provide a larger main rectangular 'frame,

within which are journaled a pair of longitudinally-extending pickingand husking rollers,(designated 15 and 16, respectively.) In order torigidly unite the main frame at a point intermediate of its length, aswell as to afiord a suitable frame upon which to mount variousoperative'parts, an arch-like frame member 17 is provided, suitablyunited at its lower side with the several frame members 3, 4, 5, and 6and at its upper portions with site that at which the master-wheel islocated is supported by means of a pair of caster wheels 14' and 14",mounted upon suitable brackets in a usual manner. The tongue and usualdraft-rigging of the machine are conveniently connected with the frontside of the rectangular frame,which incloses the masterwheel, asindicated clearly in the drawings.

The bushing-rollers 15 and 16 are supported at three different pointsthroughout their length-via, at their forward ends, at a point midway oftheir lengths, and at their rear ends-by means of bearings constructedas follows: Referring to detail Figs. 5 and 8, within the proximate endsof the interrupted frame-timbers 10 are mounted longitudinallyslidingjournal-boxes 18 adapted to receive the respective trunnions 19 of thehuskingrollers, these boxes being arranged to work in ways soconstructed as to confine the journal-boxes against lateral movement inany direction, said ways being preferably made hexagonal incross-section, as indicated at 20, Fig. 5. Interposed between the innerend of each journal-box and the end of the way or socket within which itslides is a powerful coil-spring 21, which tends to hold the rolleroutwardly or in spring-pressed engagement with its fellow roller, and inorder to provide for the lateral movement of the roller with the slidingjournal-box that side of the frame member 10 through which the trunnionenters the journal-box is slotted, as indicated at 22. At their extremeopposite ends the rollers 15 and 16 are jonrnaled in journalboxesmounted upon the cross-frame member 13, these journal-boxes being of anysuitable and ordinary construction which permits the rollers to rotatein bearing engagement with each other, and therefore require no detaileddescription.

Each of the rollers 15 and 16 consists of two main sections separablefrom each other at a point intermediate of the length of the roller andat which points of separation the rollers are supported by theintermediate bearing, hereinbefore referred to. Referring particularlyto Figs. 1, 5, and 9, the two rollersections 16' and 16 of the roller 16are shown as each provided with a trunnion projection 23 and 24,respectively. One of the trunnions, 24, is provided with an axialnon-circular socket 25, while the opposite trunnion is correspondinglyreduced, as indicated at 26, and shaped to it therein, thus providing asomewhat flexible driving connection between the two rollers, theflexibility of the union being secured by making the socket andinterfitting projection slightly tapering and at the same time soconstructed as not to fit too accurately together. The trunnion portion24 of the rear end section of the husking-roller is supported in atransversely-arranged plate-like bearing member 27, which is suitablysecured to the frame members of the main frame of the machine, the endportion thereof within which the roller is journaled being formed of thesame diameter and concentric with the periphery of the roller, so as toform and efiect a smooth continuation of the same. The trunnion portion23 of the front end section of a husking-roller is likewise journaled inthe supporting plate or bearing28; but in order to provide for a limitedoscillatory movement of the roller (to be hereinafter more fullydescribed) said trunnion projection 23 is seated in a bearing-block 29,which is in turn movably seated in the bearing-plate 28. In thepreferred construction shown the bearing-block 29 is provided atopposite sides with trunnion-like lugs 30, which fit withincorresponding longitudinally-extending grooves 31 formed in thebearingplate, these trunnions being arranged vertically to thelongitudinal axis of the roller, so that the latter, together with theblock, may oscillate in a horizontal direction or away from and towardits fellow roller. In order to provide for this rocking movement of the.bearing-block, a slight space 32 is provided at its inner end, while itsopposite end extends out flush with the end of the supporting-plate,which is made concentric with the roller in the same manner as plate 27.The roller 15 is likewise made in two sections united with each, otherin substantially the same manner as are the sections of the roller 16;but inasmuch as the roller 15 has no lateral movementin any of its partsit is unnecessary to provide for a flexible union of the two sections,and they are therefore simply united bya socket and projectionconstructed substantially like the corresponding parts of the roller 16,but mounted in a plain bearingaperture in asingle bearing-plate 33,substantially like the bearing-plate 27 with the exception that it ispreferably of a thickness equal to the combined thickness of thebearing-plates 27 and 28. I As one of the important features of the invent-ion I provide means whereby the rollers are driven, the one fromthe other and the latter from a drive-shaft, by means of inter-' meshinggears, the gears mounted upon the two rollers constituting not only themeans of imparting motion thereto, but at the same time means forinitially feeding the stalks between the rollers.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and.

and 45, mounted upon the bull-wheel and.

shaft, respectively, as indicated clearly in Fig. '1. Upon the forwardend of the main drive-shaft 34 is mounted a spur-gear 46, (see detailFig. 13,) which is arranged to intermesh with a somewhat similarspur-gear 47, mount ed upon the trunnion of the roller 15, and the.

gear 47 in turn meshes with and imparts motion to a second similargear48, mounted upon the roller 16, and it is to be particularly notedthat the gears 47 and 48 are provided with relatively long and narrowgear-teeth 49, the, gear-teeth being severally of lesswidth orthickness,measured circumferentially, than the intervals between the teeth and theaxes of the two rollers being located at such distance apart that thepoints of the gear-teeth do not reach to the full depth of the spacesbetween the teeth. In other words, the gears are so formed and locatedrelatively to each other that stalks of corn may pass bodily between theintermeshing teeth of the gears and between the rollers without eitherclogging the gears or injuring the mechanism. It may be explained,however, in this connection that in thus passing through theintermeshing gears the stalks will be crushed into flattened condition;but the space between the gears issuch that the stalks will not be cutor torn to any substantial extent, but will remain connected with theirbutt ends rooted in the ground, so that as the machine isdrawn along thestalks will be fed through downwardly between the rollers and be left inthe field uncut.

to the yieldable mounting of the forward end of the roller 16 in thesliding bearing-block 18, hereinbefore particularly described, it willbe obvious that the gears may separate to a limited extent when requiredto accommodate a plurality of stalks passing between the gearssimultaneously or to accommodate un- The shaft 38 is driven from the,

Owingv usually large, and woody stalks. this feature'one of theimportant features of the invention, for the reason that the gears notonly serve toinitially crush the stalks into flattened form, so as tofacilitate their starting downwardly through the rollers, but they alsoimparta morepositive movement downwardly to the stalks than would bepossible were the stalks simply passed between the rollers without beingpreviously passed through the gears, and afterv the'y'are once startedthere is practically no liability of their ceasing to feed regularly asthe rollers revolve. It may be mentioned in this connection that therate of rotationof the rollers and the gears which actuate the rollersis I consider such that the stalks will be fed downwardly through therollers more rapidly than. the progress of the machine as it is drawnalong would tend to draw or strip the stalks through the rollers byreason of the attachmentofthe stalks to their butts. A further advantageincidental to the feeding of the stalks thron'gh the gears initially isthat each stalk isthus crushedand partially broken or crimped, 'so thatafter the machine passes the stalks are left crushed down and in goodcondition. to be subsequently plowed 'under,thereby avoiding thenecessity ofa subsequent'going over the field with a suitable machinefor this, In order toinsure that particular purpose. the stalks .will bebrought into such alinement as to be directed certainlyinto thein'ter-Qmeshing teeth of the cogs 47 and 48, I pro-1 vide a. pair ofspring-supported throat-plates v 125, so mounted relatively toieach'other as to form a narrow throat in alinementwith the meetingsline ofthe rollers. IIn the preferred construction shown each plate is,piv-

oted, the forward endsof the throat-plates are arranged indivergentrelation to each other and are pivotally attached to a suitable supportat their said forward ends,.as.

indicated at 126, while attheir inner ends they are yieldably supported,so as to be ca.- pable of yielding away from each other by means ofspring-plungers 127, (see detail Fig.

8,) pivotally connected therewith and work'- ing through suitable guides128,'the.plungers being yieldably held againstretraction by means ofpowerfully-coiled eXtension-.

springs 129, interposed between theguides 128 and the head ends'of theplu'ngers. The" advance movement of the plungersIunderthe action of thesprings is limited by means of adjusting-nuts 130, threaded. upon therear ends of the plunger-stems. are mounted upon the frame member. 10,hereinbefore described. As shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 8 ofthedrawings, thethroat plates are so located as to extend horizontallyor in a plane parallel with the ax'esof the rollers from points somedistancein advance of thefront ends of the latter to points somedistance in rear of the gears 47,48 and at such height as tojust clear.the upper peripheries.

The guides128 of said gears. In order to .insurea more posi;

tive feeding downward of the stalks between the rollers, the front endsections of both rollers are corrugated longitudinally, as indicatedmost clearly in Figs. 1 and 6, the corrugations preferably being deepestadjacent to their respective gears and gradually tapered out or madeshallower toward the rear end of said sections. construction it will beobvious that the buttend and thicker portions of the stalks will be morepositively grasped by the rollers and fed downwardly, this beingespecially necessary, owing to the fact that the stripping off of theears will occur principally during the time the stalks are passingthrough the forward roller-sections.

Means are provided for conveying the ears stripped from the stalksrearwardly along the trough-like space formed by the rollers, as willhereinafter be fully explained, and in order to efiect the stripping offof the husks from the ears the rear end sections of the rollers aredifferently constructed from the front end sections, as follows: Eachrear end rollersection is provided with a series of shortradially-projecting spurs 50,the most desirable specific form andarrangement of which is best shown in detail Fig. 10, these spurs beingpreferably arranged in pairs in longitudinal alinement with each other,so that any given portion of the husk engaged thereby will besimultaneously engaged at two points, and thus more positively turnedand stripped from the ear. The series of pairs of spurs are arranged atintervals apart circumferentially and throughout practically the fulllengths of the rear sections of the rollers, as indicated clearly inFig. 1, the spurs of one roller being so located as to be interspacedrelatively tothe spurs of the opposite roller. Inasmuch as the rollersare so mounted as to rotate in direct bearing with each other so far astheir outer surfaces are concerned, each roller is provided withcavities to accommodate the spur projections on the opposite roller, itbeing understood that inasmuch as the rollers are driven positively theone from the other by means of the gears described these cavities orrecesses will always register with the spurs of the fellow roller. As asubordinate feature of improvement I mount the several spur projectionsin Babbitt metal or analogous metal, so that while held securely andrigidly in operative position they may nevertheless be taken out of therollers for sharpening or renewal. In the preferred construction shownherein a cylindric cavity or recess 51 (see particularly detail Fig. 10)is provided in the surface of the roller for each spur, and the spursare provided with headed ends, which are seated within said cylindriccavities, and the Babbitt metal then cast therein, thus securely holdingthe spur in the exact required position. The main body portions of therollers are preferably made of metal of shelllike construction, as alsoindicated in said Fig. 10, so

By reason of thisthat when it is desired to remove the spurs theroller-section may be heated sufficiently to melt the babbitt, and thusrelease the spurs. Inasmuch as the hnsking of the ears of corn by thespur projections will occasionally shell off kernels of corn, I provideone of the rear roller-sections with a groove extending throughout itslength of such size in crosssection as to accommodate such kernels andpermit them to pass through between the rollers without forcing thelatter apart or without being crushed. Preferably this groove isarranged to extend around the roller spirally, the oblique direction ofthe groove when thus arranged tending to facilitate the downward passageof the kernels while filling such passage throughout the entire lengthof the section of the roller.

To now describe the mechanism whereby the stalks are gathered anddirected to the husking-rollers and the stripped-off ears subsequentlyfed along the rollers and through the machine, 52 52 designate as awhole a pair of gathering-fingers secured to the front end of the mainframe to extend forwardly therefrom in divergent relation and so locatedrelatively to each other as to direct the cornstalks into a throat 53,formed by and between said gathering-fingers, and thus between thehusking-rollers. Preferably the gathering-fingers are made pointed andof increasing vertical width from their points rearwardly to theirpoints of connectionwith the main frame, their inner faces or actingsurfaces being inclined forwardly and outwardly away from each other aswell as being arranged in divergent relation. Each finger is providedwith two conveyor-belts 54 and 55, which assist in picking up the cornand carrying it very positively rearwardly between the fingers, saidbelts being of sprocket-chain construction and severally provided withseries of projecting fingers or conveyor projections 56 and 57. From therear end of each gathering-finger 52 a guard-board 58 and 59 extendsthroughont the length of the bushing rollers, these guard-boards beingarranged at the same angle of divergence as the gathering-fingers and incontinuation of the latter, so as to form a hopper-like receptacle abovethe husking-rollers, which are located at the apex of the hopper thusformed, as best indicated in Fig. 3.

The conveyer-belts 54c are arranged to each extend from a point somewhatin rear of the forward end of the bushing-rollers and adjacent to theupper edge of the hopper obliquely, forwardly, and downwardly to a pointas near the extreme point of the gathering'finger as practicable. Tothus support and carry the belt, a suitable guide-sprocket 60 is mountedat the point of each gathering-finger and a correspondingdriving-sprocket 61 located at the rear end of the gathering-finger, theaxes of these two pairs of sprockets being arranged substantiallyparallel with the inner or directing face of the gathering-finger, sothat the plane of the belt is located perpendicularly thereto and withone lap of the belt working inside of the gathering-finger and the otherexteriorly thereof. In order to suitably support and actuate sprocket61, a bearing-bracket 62 is mounted upon the longitudinal main-framemembers at each side of and beneath the hopper members, which bracketsare severally provided at their upper ends with divergent arms63 64,upon which are mounted bearings 65 66. The sprocket 61 is mounted uponthe arm 64 with its axis in the position hereinbefore described, andupon the outer or upper face of said sprocket is formed a. gear 67,which intermeshes with the corresponding gear 68, mounted upon atransverse shaft 69, seated in the bearing 65, hereinbefore referred to.Upon the opposite end of the shaft 69 is mounted a sprocket 70, which isdriven by a sprocket-belt, extending thence rearwardly to a sprocket 71,mounted upon a transversely-arranged shaft 72, which exlends entirelyacross the machine andis suitably mounted in bearings upon the archframe17, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. The cross-shaft 72 is driven fromthe main longitudinal drive-shaft 34 by means of a shaft 73, provided ateach end with bevel-gears 74 and 75, respectively, which intermesh withcorresponding bevelgears 76 and 77, mounted upon the shafts 72 and 34,respectively.

The conveyor-belts 55-severally extend from points intermediate of thelength of the gath- (ring-fingers rearwardly to points somewhat in rearof the front ends of the husking-rollers, these belts being desirablyarranged to run substantially horizontal and at points intermediate ofthe vertical width of the gathering-fingers or so as to lie just abovethe upper surfaces of the gathering-rollers, as indicated clearly in thefigures. In order to support and operate these conveyer-belts,guidesprockets 78 (see Fig. 4) are mounted at suitable points upon thegathering-fingers, and corresponding drive-sprockets 79 are provided atpoints horizontally in'rear thereof mounted upon vertical shafts 80,journaled in bearing-blocks 81, mounted upon the longitudinalframe-timbers 4 and 5, respectively, as best indicated in Figs. 1 and 4.Each shaft 80 is also provided with a sprocket 82, located immediatelybelow the sprocket 79, whichis driven by a sprocket-belt 83, extendingthence rearwardly to and around a sprocket 84, mounted upon a verticalshaft 85. The two shafts 85, one at each side of the machine, arejournaled in suitable bearings upon the main arch-frame in a mannersubstantially similar to the shaft 73 and are driven from the crossshaft72 by means of pairs of intermeshing gears 86 and 87. In addition to theguidesprockets 78 and driving-sprocket 7 9, around which theconveyer-belts 55 are trained, an

intervening guide-sprocket 88 islprovided for each of said.conveyor-belts so located as to cause the inner or acting lap of thebelt to follow approximately the inner contour of the gathering-finger,as best shown in Fig. 1.

To next describe the-conveyer-belt, which serves to draw the ears ofcorn stripped from the stalks along thehusking-rollers, referring toFig. 4, 89 designates a sprocket located adjacent to the rear ends ofthe husking-rollers and mounted upon a suitable stub-shaft 90, workinginbearings 91 and 92, mounted upon the mainframe and left-hand hopperside, respectively, as best indicated in Fig. 3, the axis of said shaftbeing arranged perpendicularly to said hopper side and the sprocketlocated somewhat above the latter in position for its lower periphery toproject into the hollow or groove formed by the upper sides of themeeting rollers.

93 designates a track or way extending from a point near thesprocket-wheel 89v forwardly parallel with the husking-rollers to apoint approximately even with the front ends thereof, at which point theend of the track is curved upwardly and outwardly parallel with theplane of the left-hand hopper member and parallel with the plane of thesprocket S9 andreturned upon itself a short-distance, so as to form aguide for the sprocket belt or conveyor 94, which is mounted to travelaround the sprocket 89 and throughthe track 93. The track or way 93 isapproximately C- shaped in cross-section, the inturned portions 95forming supports which confine and carryfiange-like projections 96,formed to extend laterally from the links of the conveyor-belt 94.Conveniently said track is supported rigidly in position by means of aseries of brackets 97, mounted upon the proximate hopper member, as bestindicated in detail Fig. 14. The conveyer-belt 94 is provided atfrequent intervals with finger-like projections 98, which projectdownwardly into the hollow between the rollers and serve to carry alongpositively the ears stripped from the stalks of corn, finallydischarging the latter at the rear end of the rollers into the boot ofan ele- Vator, to be hereinafter described.

In order to drive the sprocket 89, the lower end of the shaft isprovided with a spurgear 99, which is arranged to intermesh with theproximate one of a train of gears, (respectively designated 100, 101,and 102,) the latter of which is mounted upon the end of a shaft 103,which extends downwardly in a direction parallel with the shaft 90 andis provided at its lower end with a bevel-gear 104, which intermesheswith a corresponding bevel-gear 105, mounted upon the main driveshaft34. The object of providing the train of gears described is twofold,primarily to reduce the speed of the sprocket-chain conveyer 94 andsecondarily to so arrange the transmission members as to avoid the useof spiral gears and other complications.

Describing now the elevator herein-before referred to and referring moreparticularly to Fig. 3, where the elevator is shown in longitudinalsection, 106 designates as a whole the elevator housing or chute, whichis arranged to extend from the rear ends of the husking-rollerslaterally obliquely forwardly and outwardly to a suitable height toconvey the corn to a wagon, the upper end of the chute beingconvenientlysu pported by means of a cable 107, attached to a belt 108at the upper end of the chute and extending thence obliquely down wardto the opposite corner of the main frame, as clearly indicated in saidFig. 3. The conveyer 109, which works within the elevator-chute may beof any preferred or suitable construction, that shown herein comprisinga pair of sprocket-chain belts respectively trained around sprockets110, mounted upon a transverse shaft extending through the upper part ofthe chute and at their lower ends passing around semicircular guides111, suitably mounted in the lower end or boot portion of the chute.Secured to and extending across said sprocket-chains at frequentintervals is a series of conveyer-blades 112, these blades being of suchwidth as to extend from the lower lap of the conveyer downwardly to oradjacent to the bottom side of the chute, so as to engage and carryupwardly the ears of corn discharged into the lower end of the chute.The lower end of the chute is provided with a suitable inlet, throughwhich the corn is admitted from the rollers, while at its upper end itis provided with a discharge-outlet, as usual. In order to actuate saidconveyer, a sprocket 113 is mounted upon a shaft 114, arranged to extendtransversely through the chute at a point approximately vertical abovethe main driveshaft 34, which sprocket 113 is driven by means of a belt115, extending thence downwardly to a corresponding sprocket 116,mounted upon a short shaft 117 and carrying a spur-gear 118, which isarranged to intermesh with the corresponding gear 119,mounted upon thesaid drive-shaft 34. Upon the shaft 114, adjacent to the sprocket 113,is mounted a second sprocket 120, over which is trained a belt 121,which extends thence upwardly to a sprocket 122,mounted upon the shaft123, which carries the conveyer-sprockets at the upper end of theelevatorshaft. In order to accommodate the elevator-chute to wagons ofdifferent height, it is made of jointed construction, the upper end ofthe chute being capable of oscillatory movement relatively to the loweror boot section. To this end the shaft 114 is utilized as a pivot, withwhich the respective sides of the upper end section of the chute havepivotal engagement, the shaft being journaled in suitable bearingscarried upon the sides of the lower section. Inasmuch as the sprockets113 and 120 are mounted upon the said shaft 114, and are thereforeconcentric with the pivotal axis of the chute, the raising or loweringof the upper end of the latter does not affect the driving connectionsbetween the main shaft and the elevator-conveyor.

The operation of the machine constructed as described has beensufficiently indicated in connection with the description of themechanism thereof to be entirely obvious, but may be briefly detailed asfollows: The driver, seated upon the drivers seat 124, guides the teamso that the gathering-fingers straddle the row to be husked. As themachine is drawn along such stalks as have been broken over or standaway from the main row are picked up by the point of thegathering-fingers and engaged by the long conveyer-belts and carriedpositively to the throat of the machine, while the upright stalks passinto the throat without guiding as the machine advances. The stalks asthey enter the narrowest portion of the throat 53 are engaged by thefingers of the conveyer-belts and carried positively rearwardly, therebybending the stalks rearwardly to some extent, owing to the fact thatthese conveyers run somewhat more rapidly than the rate of advancementof the machine and that the upper conveyers be driven more rapidly thanthe lower ones. As the stalks reach the intermeshing cogs of the rollersthey are grasped by the latter and drawn downwardly simultaneously withtheir movement rearwardly between the rollers, the downward and rearwardmovement of the stalks continuing until they have been entirely fedthrough. As the stalks pass downwardly between the rollers the ears arepinched or stripped off, it being noted that they are almost invariablypresented to the rollers butt first, so that usually the outer huskswill remain attached to the stalks, passing out between the rollers withthe stalks, while the partially-husked ears will be left resting uponthe rollers. The partiallyhusked ears are conveyed gradually along thelength of the rollers, the latter tending constantly to engage the loosehusks and strip them from the ears as the latter are moved along. \Vhenthe ears reach those portions of the rollers which are provided with thespurs, the latter dig into and engage the husks positively and carrythem downward between the rollers, thus husking the corn clean before itreaches the rear end of the machine. The conveyer 94 serves to dischargethe ears into the elevator, wherein they are transferred to the wagon inan obvious manner. It is to be particularly noted that the passagebetween the rollers is unobstructed from end to end of the machine, sothat it is immaterial whether the stalks be completely passed throughthe rollers during their rearward passage between the front sections ornot until they have reached the rear sections. The rate of speed of therollers is such that in any event the stalks will be completely carriedthrough the rollers before they reach the rear end of the machine.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that I attain the severalobjects of my invention and provide a machine which is at once rapid,effective in operation, and not IIO likely to become clogged inoperation and which will at the same timeoperate upon corn ofwidely-varying character without change or adjustment.

While I have herein shown and described what I deem to be a perfectembodiment of my invention, yet it will be obvious that the details ofconstruction may be varied without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and I do not, therefore, wish to be. limited to the detailsof construction described except to the extent that they are made thesubject of specific claims.

I claim as my invention- 1. In acorn-husking machine, the combinationwith a wheeled frame of a pair of husking and snapping rollers journaled to rotate alongside of each other, a pair ofgears mou ntedconcentric with and at the forward end of said rollers and arranged tointermesh with each other, the intermeshing peripheries of said gearsbeing located in advance of the forward ends of' the rollers, and invertical alinement with the proximate sides of the rollers, and meansfor imparting rotation to the gears and rollers, for the purpose setforth.

2. In acorn-husking machine, the combination with a wheeled frameprovided with a pair of gathering-guides arranged in divergent relationsto each other to form a throat in rear of their advance ends,conveyor-belts mounted upon said gathering-guides to travellongitudinally thereon and provided with stalk-engaging projections orfingers, a pair of husking and snap'pingrollers located in rear of, andin alinement with, the throat formed between said gatheringuides, a gearmounted upon the forward end of each of said rol1ers,of a pitch diametersubstantiallyequal to that of the roller and arranged to intermesh witheach other, means for imparting a positive rotation to said gears as themachine is drawn along, projections upon said rollers adapted to engageand strip the husks from the ears of corn lying thereon, and means forconveying the ears of corn rearwardly along said rollers, for thepurpose described.

3. In a corn-picking machine,'the combination with the wheeled mainframe, and a pair of divergent gathering-fingers, of a pair of throatplates pivotally mounted upon said gathering-fingers and arranged toextend within the throat formed within said fingers, springs holdingsaid throat-plates yieldably against receding from each other, a pair ofhuskingand snappingrollersjournaled alongside of, and in bearing with,each other in position to receive stalks from thethroat between saidthroat-plates between their meeting sides, spur-gears mounted upon theforward ends of the respective rollers concentric with the several axesthereof opposite the yieldable portions of said throat-plates andarranged'to loosely intermesh with each other across the throat-openingbetween the throatplates, a series of projections-upon the huskingportion of one or both of said rollers adapted to engage and strip thehusk s from the ears of corn, as the rollers are rotated,

' means forimparti'ng a-positive rotation to the rollers as the machineis advanced and means for conveying the ears of corn longitudinallyalong the rollers, for the purpose set forth.

4. In a corn-husking machine, the combina tion of a pair of -husking andsnapping rollers journaled to rotate alongside of each other andhorizontally disposed, each roller beingof transversely-dividedconstruction and having a forward section constructed to move yieldinglyaway from its opposing roller, and which yielding section islongitudinally corrugated, and a rear section fixed againstsubstantially lateral movement and provided with spur projections, and apair of spur-gears mounted at the forward ends of said rollers androtating with the latter, said spur-gears being provided with relativelylong and looselyintermeshing teeth arranged to overlap the V driven fromthe other, comprising a bearingplate arranged to extend between thecontiguous ends, of said roller-sections, a bearingblock mounted toslide in waysextending transversely to the length of the rollerandprovided with a bearing-aperture and trunnion-like projections upon theroller-sections coupledtogether and engaging thebearing-v aperture ofsaid bearing-block, substantially as described. 1

6. In a corn-huskingmachine, a huskingroller comprising two sectionsflexibly united with each other by means imparting a posi-' tiverotation from onet-o the other, as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a corn-husking machine, the combination of a wheeled main framecomprising laterally opposite main-frame sections uncon-v nected witheach other from the front end-of the machine rearwardly to the rear endcross-frames except by overhead cross-frame members whereby to .providea longitudinally extending unobstructed passage between said laterallyopposite frame-sections, gathering-guid es arranged at the front of saidframe-sections to direct the stalks of corninto said passage between theframe-sections,v a pair of husking and snapping rollers journaled in therespective laterally opposite frame-sections to rotate alongside of andin contact with each other, and yieldingly' mounted so as to separatelaterally away from each other, their meeting surfaces being located insaid longitudinally-extending passage,a pairof spur-gears mounted upontheforward endsof saidhusking and snapping rollers and arranged tointermesh with each other ICC loosely, the teeth of said spur-gearsbeing arranged to intermesh to an extent greater than the extentoflateral movement of said rollers away from each other, whereby oneroller is positively driven from the other at all times, a drive-shaftarranged to extend parallel with said bushing and snapping rollers andprovided with a gear intermeshing with the spurgear of the proximatebushing and snapping roller, a master-wheel journaled in the main frameand driving connections between said master-wheel and saidlongitudinally-extending drive-shaft, substantially as described.

8. In a corn-bushing machine, the combination with a pair ofbushing-rollers, of a pair of spur toothed gears mounted with theiraxesconcentric with the longitudinal axes of the bushing-rollers and atthe forward ends thereof, said gears being arranged to intermesh butbeing set sufficiently apart to prevent the teeth intermeshing theirfull depths, and means for positively rotating said gears and rollers inthe same direction.

9. In a corn-huslting machine, the combination of a main framecomprising two laterally parallel frame structures united at a pointintermediate their lengths and a substantial distance in rear of thefront ends thereof by an overhead transverse arch and at their rear endsby cross-frame members, a master-wheel journaled in said main frame atone side, one or more supporting-wheels at the opposite side of saidmain frame, a pair of gathering-fingers mounted at the front end of themachine in divergent relation, a pair of husking and snapping rollersjournaled to extend alongside of and in bearing with each other in rearof and in alinement with the throat between said gatheringfingers, saidrollers being each transversely divided intermediate its length andflexibly united whereby the forward sections are free to yieldlaterally, a pair of intermeshing gears mounted upon the forward ends ofsaid husking and snapping rollers with their axes coincident with therespective axes of the rollers, a main drive-shaft arranged to extendparallel with and adjacent to one of said bushing and snapping rollersthroughout the mainlength of the machine and provided atits forward endwith a gear intermeshing with that of the adjacent husking and snappingroller, drivingconnections between said mas ter-wheel and said mai ushaft, conveyer-belts mounted on the respective gathering-fingers toextend longitudinally of the latter, a conveyer belt mounted to travellongitudinally above and in proximity to the upper sides of said bushingand snapt'iing rollers, and driving connections between said main shaftand said several couveyer-belts, the driving connections between saidbushing-rollers and the conveyer-belts of the gathering-lingers beingsuch as to impart a speed sufficient to draw practically the entirelengths of the stocks downwardly through the rolls before they reach aposition opposite the point of flexible union between theroller-sections, substantially as described.

10. In a corn-husking machine, the combination of a main framecomprisingtwo laterally opposite main-frame structures united at a pointintermediate their lengths by means of a transverse arch, a pair ofhusking-roIlers arranged to extend longitudinally of the machine andbeneath the central part of said arch, conveyer-belts arranged totraveladjacent to the upper sides of said rollers and other conveyer-beltsarranged to travel at an elevation above said first-mentioned con-Veyer-belts, and means for imparting a synchronous driving movement tosaid rollers and said conveyer-belts comprising a main shaft journaledto extend longitudinally of the main frame and through the lower part ofsaid transverse arch, a transverse shaft mounted upon the upper part ofsaid arch to extend horizontally across the machine, driving connectionsbetween said main shaft and said horizontal transverse shaft, drivingconnections between the upper conveyor-belts and said horizontaltransverse shaft,driving connections between said main shaft and thebushing-rollers and driving connections between the lower conveyer-beltsand main shaft, substantially as described.

v VVILBUR SCHULTZ.

Witnesses:

A. W. LINDQUIST, ALBERT H. GRAVES.

